Total elbow arthroplasty for distal humeral nonunion in elderly patients:12 cases report
LI Zhan-chun
CHENG Guang-qi
ZHANG Ji-dong
MA Tao
WANG Wei-li
LIU Zu-de
Abstract：Objective To investigate the clinical outcomes of total elbow arthroplasty ( TEA ) for distal humeral nonunion in elderly patients. Methods From February 2005 to November 2010, 12 patients with distal humeral nonunion underwent TEA. There were 5 males and 7 females, whose average age was ( 76±4 ) years old ( range;69-83 years ). The fractures were formerly classiifed according to the AO classiifcation, including 3 cases of type B and 9 cases of type C. Distal humeral nonunion caused by the failure of non-surgical treatment occurred in 6 cases, and by the failure of open reduction and internal ifxation in the other 6 cases. The semi-constrained Coonrad-Morry artiifcial elbow joints ( Zimmer, Warsaw, IN, USA ) were used. The Mayo Elbow Performance Score ( MEPS ), Range of Motion ( ROM ) of the elbow joint and Visual Analogue Scale ( VAS ) were investigated at 6 months after the operation. Results All patients were followed up for an average period of ( 33.4±6.3 ) months ( range;25-45months ). No ulnar nerve or vascular injuries, dislocation or instability of the elbow joint, weakness of the triceps muscle, periprosthetic fractures or prosthesis loosening or breakage were found. The average MEPS was ( 29±13 ) points ( range;10-50 points ) preoperatively and ( 85±10 ) points ( range;65-100 points ) postoperatively ( P<0.05 ). The results were excellent in 4 cases ( 33%), good in 6 cases ( 50%) and fair in 2 cases ( 17%). The average ROM of the elbow joint was ( 18±11 ) degrees ( range;0-40 degrees ) preoperatively, which was increased to ( 108±21 ) degrees ( range;75-135 degrees ) postoperatively ( P<0.05 ). The lfexion and extension of ROM of the elbow joint was more than 90 degrees in 9 patients ( 75%). The pain of the elbow joint in patients was obviously relieved. The VAS score was ( 7.3±1.1 ) points ( range;5-9 points ) preoperatively, which was reduced to ( 1.3±0.9 ) points ( range;0-2 points ) postoperatively ( P<0.05 ). Conclusions The clinical outcomes of TEA for distal humeral nonunion in elderly patients are satisfactory.
Keywords：Humeral fractureFractureElbow prosthesisJoint prosthesis
Publication Date：2013-01-01
Online Publishing Date：2025-08-15(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：5( 680-684 )